


Snuff the Weasel

by Jaxopil



Category: Wild Kratts
Genre: Angst, Animal Trafficking, Drama, Gen, Violence, darker than canon, some torture but its mostly psychological
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-08-28 19:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaxopil/pseuds/Jaxopil
Summary: The crew is on a routine adventure to track a troop of mountain gorillas when Chris goes missing after they start to disappear. Chris wasn't a spy, but tell that to the animal traffickers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been playing with this idea for a while and I had to write it out. Some of the later scenes are a little heavier, but there's nothing extremely graphic, mostly emotional. Animal traffickers can be dangerous and crafty professional criminals, and I wanted to play them as such.

“How's the tracking going with the gorillas, Chris?”

The crew had Chris on the big screen in the Tortuga, checking his progress on their latest mission for tracking a troop of the rare and endangered mountain gorillas. Martin had been out there several hours earlier with him, but had been called back by Aviva after she needed some testing done for the creature power disc she was working on.

A chance to become a gorilla? Martin was in. As much as he wanted to stay and observe them some more, he _did_ lose the bet with Chris of who could find the gorillas first. And a finished creature power disc meant actually being with them in _gorilla powers_ , so he couldn't complain about a few lost hours.

“I've only got five so far since Martin left,” Chris said, holding up the remaining few tracking chips he had left. “I'm trying to get these ones tagged before nightfall, but for some reason I can't seem to find the rest of the gorillas. And I haven't even seen Fluff or his mom again to tag them, and their nest is empty!”

“That's strange,” Martin frowned in thought. They had been out in the forest for several days now to observe them before tagging, and they had come across several of the gorillas. The rangers estimated the population of the troop in this section of the mountains to be about twenty, and so far they've only tracked thirteen. “Well the ones we've tagged so far are still on the radar, so that's good. Think it could be trouble?”

“With our usual villains? I haven't seen any signs of their ships,” Chris said, looking up towards the sky. “Usually we would've heard them by now, but the forest has been quiet. Other than not finding the rest of the gorillas, nothing seems wrong.” His voice had a hint of doubt in it, as if he was trying to convince himself.

“I haven't seen anything on radar, but I know Zach has cloaking technology on his ship,” Koki reported. “And I'm showing Donita, Gourmand, and Paisley Paver are all in North America.”

“We would already know if it was Zach stealing the gorillas,” Jimmy added. “We would've heard him or seen the Zachbots by now.”

“That's true, but still...” Martin exchanged a glance with the rest of the crew. This mission was big; they had been preparing for weeks to track this troop of endangered gorillas and send the research over to the national park they were currently working with. The small gorilla troop was supposed to have increased in population, so why did they seem to be suddenly disappearing?

But they couldn't have gone missing; they must have just not been able to find them all yet to tag them, right? The park was a heavily protected area, containing one of the most endangered species of animals on the planet. The crew themselves had to go through almost a month of processing in order to get access, so there was slim chance of anyone else being in the park other than them who could have caused them to go missing.

No, The gorillas were fine, and there was no sign of trouble in the area, Martin reassured himself. But he still had to be sure.

“Shouldn't be trouble, but we can scout out the area to make sure,” Martin reasoned, deciding to stay on the cautious side just in case. “It could just be some of them wandered off to find some food or shelter.”

“Koki and Jimmy can help me finish up the gorilla creature power disc. MK, maybe you should go back out there and help Chris,” Aviva said. “If they've separated like you said, then we now have a wider area we need to search. It's gonna get dark in a few hours, and our goal was to have them all tagged by the end of the day.”

“And I can still beat your tagging record dude!” Martin said with a smile, brightening up at the idea of getting back out there. “Where ya at so we can meet up?”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Yeah right, I'm four tags ahead of you now. I'm on the northern side of the park, following the silverback. I'll send you my coordinates.”

“And I'll bring your creature power suit with me too,” Martin said, stuffing the green vest and gloves into his bag. Chris grimaced as he watched it disappear.

“My creature power suit better come out as nice as it was before,” Chris muttered.

“Yeah yeah, it will,” Martin said, quickly putting his own vest and gloves on. “Aviva said the discs should be done in a couple hours too. Maybe gorilla creature powers can help us find these last few that need tagged!”

“Just remember we have a job to do, guys,” Aviva said with a frown, her arms crossed. “We don't need a repeat of _last_ time when you hung out with a bunch of reptiles after you got the creature power discs when we were supposed to study the ecosystem of the Sonoran Desert.”

Martin gave the Hispanic a sheepish look as he let out a nervous laugh. That had been mostly his fault, although Chris didn't exactly help, either. “Don't worry, Aviva, I promise. Scouts honor,” he said, holding up two fingers. “Find and finish tagging the rest of the gorillas first, then we can hang out with them in our creature power suits, got it.” Martin turned back to face Chris on the video screen. “Ok bro, I'll be there soon, just don't tag any more without me.”

The younger Kratt gave a wave before the video connection cut. While Martin knew in his mind the gorillas were most likely fine and just wanted some privacy, something in the back of his mind was telling him something wasn't quite right. Gorillas were very social creatures, and didn't just split up like that unless they had a good reason to.

Bidding goodbyes and promises to the crew he would check in with them this time, he grabbed his helmet and hopped on his buzz bike. The sooner he got to Chris' coordinates and made sure the troop of gorillas were safe, the better.

* * *

 

“What in the... Something's not right here...”

Martin stopped the buzz bike immediately when he saw the distinctive and careful set up of rope hidden amongst a cluster of trees, his expression darkening as he approached it to get a better look and realized exactly what it was. Two snare traps, simple in construction but just as deadly as any other. They were, unfortunately, more common than he liked to see in nature, and finding one in this area only angered him even more. Martin immediately took the traps down.

“This place is supposed to be protected, so how did someone get in to set these?”

Stowing the rope in his bag, he began to look around the area for more. While there were other creatures in the area, these traps were large, big enough to catch even the largest silverback. Martin pressed his lips together in worry as he thought about the missing gorillas and if they had been caught in other nearby traps, and the danger the remaining troop could be in. How many traps were even set? How long ago were these placed?

Several yards away was another trap, and Martin pulled that one down as well. They were strategically placed too well, hidden in spots that gorillas would take shelter in; someone had purposely set the traps specifically to catch these gorillas. If the elder Kratt had any doubts about them going missing before, his suspicions were now confirmed.

_I gotta call Chris, he needs to know about this-_

“Martin, come in!”

Koki's voice from his creature pod startled Martin, who was just about to grab it to make the call to Chris and hadn't even expected anyone to reach out to him. _I only stopped for a second!_

Fumbling with his creature pod in his pocket, he pulled it out to answer and was greeted with Koki's stressed face on screen. “I know, I know, I'm supposed to meet up with Chris and finish the tagging,” Martin admitted, figuring it was better to confess now than to try and come up with an excuse. This was important, and he stopped for good reason. “But listen, I found-”

“You can check it out later,” Koki said, cutting him off. “I just lost signal from Chris' creature pod.”

Martin immediately stopped at Koki's words, his eyes going wide. Part of him hoped Chris only accidentally broke his creature pod (he'd rather deal with an angry Aviva than the worst case scenario any day), but he knew in the back of his head that Chris was careful in taking care of his stuff, especially his gear, and he wouldn't just let it break like that. It was too coincidental now after what he found, and Martin started to get worried. This wasn't looking good _at all._

“I tried to reach him but I couldn't even get the call to go through. I'm doing a reset on the monitors and GPS systems just in case, but so far it's not looking good,” Koki continued. “And right after that we lost signal on tag number seven. Something funny's going on here, and I don't like it.”

Tag seven. A curious young gorilla Martin had named Fizz who liked to play with his jacket zipper. _Aw man, not him too!_

Martin mentally hit himself over the head. Chris had mentioned not being able to find the remaining ones this morning, and then again just a little while ago. But all Martin had done was give some half thought explanation. Oh, how stupid could he be?

“I found a bunch of animal traps over here too. Snares,” Martin said, holding up the ropes of the traps he had taken down. “Someone's doing this on purpose to trap these gorillas, I just know it. We have to stop them.”

“Well whoever is doing it knows enough to take off or deactivate our tags. Aviva programmed them to be nearly undetectable,” Koki said, her lips thin with worry. “Jimmy already sent out the flycam so we can keep an eye on you, just in case. If Chris did get caught up with these trappers, then it could be dangerous.”

Martin's stomach twisted as he listened to Koki, now wishing he had made Chris go back to the Tortuga instead of making a stupid bet. Or even better, stayed with his brother and the gorillas. Then maybe all of this might not have even happened.

“I'm only a few miles away from the coordinates Chris gave me. I'll head over and go from there,” Martin said, quickly looking around for any more traps before climbing back on the buzz bike. “Link up the shared connection for the creature pods in case Chris tries to call the Tortuga.”

“You got it. We'll keep you monitored and posted if anything happens. And be careful out there, Martin. We don't know what we could be dealing with yet. Give us a call if something comes up, Jimmy's got the Tortuga on stand by if you need us.”

After ending the call, Martin pushed the buzz bike to full speed and continued towards Chris' last coordinates.

_First the gorillas, now Chris..._

* * *

 

Chris frowned as he compared the map he created of the places they first met each gorilla so far to the radar coordinates of the tags Koki had sent him. Thirteen dots blinked fairly close together on his creature pod, but they weren't matching up with what was on his own map.

“Two days ago we counted seventeen,” Chris said to himself, tracing a finger over the dot he placed where they originally met Fluff and his mom. “The rest of the troop has been following the silverback, so where could the other four go?”

Hoisting himself up several branches of a tree for a better look, Chris pulled out his binoculars and looked across the dense forest. The thirteen gorillas were spaced out across the forest floor, grooming each other and foraging for food, all typical gorilla behavior.

“All of them seem to be acting normal,” he said, marking off each corresponding dot on the map with the ones he counted.

Martin said it could have been a few gorillas that were looking for food, but Chris felt unsure about the whole situation. A group of adults leaving to scout the area for the rest of the troop, he could understand, but baby Fluff was missing too, along with another juvenile. The young usually stayed closed to the troop, and there were no known predators in the area either, so something unusual had to be happening.

“Huh? Wait a second...” Adjusting the binoculars, Chris focused in on the lead silverback, who was pacing and looking around. “That's weird, he must think something's up too. But what's upsetting him?”

Could he be worried about the missing gorillas too? Chris wished Martin would hurry up and get here already. The elder was always better at being able to get close and 'join in with the herd' with the creatures, so to speak. If Martin was able to do that, then they could get a better understanding of where they were disappearing to and why.

“Hey there!”

Startled from the unexpected and unfamiliar voice calling from below, Chris scrambled to keep from accidentally dropping the binoculars. Looking down towards the source of the voice, he spotted a man he did not recognize in a park ranger uniform, waving at him. Chris dropped down from the tree and approached him.

“Hector Novak, I'm one of the ranger officers here at the park,” the man started, holding out his hand as a greeting. His voice held a slight accent, different from the local one the other rangers had. “I've seen you around, but I don't believe we've officially met, mister...?”

“Chris Kratt, research biologist,” he introduced, meeting the hand with his own for a shake. “We've been working on tagging this troop of mountain gorillas to better understand how they live.”

“Yes, I heard the park was investing more effort into the gorilla population,” Hector praised. “Thanks to your research, we'll be able to improve our conservation program. Right now these gorillas are one of the most critically endangered animals on the planet, and we hope to use this research to increase their numbers.”

Chris almost winced at hearing that; now was as good a time as any to break the news.

“Mr. Novak, I've been mapping out these gorillas for the past few days, and I think some of them might have gone missing,” Chris explained, handing over the two maps to the ranger. “Yesterday I counted seventeen, but today I can only find thirteen of them. I originally thought they've might've joined their own troop, but I don't think that's right.”

Hector looked between the two maps, his expression unreadable. “So you're saying four are missing?” he asked as his finger traced over the dots Chris had colored differently. “Are these the ones?”

Looking over the map with him, Chris nodded. “Two juveniles, a mother, and an adult male just vanished overnight. I've looked everywhere, but I can't find them.”

“Can you show me the rest of them?”

Chris turned to lead Hector to the gorilla troop when suddenly he felt something slip over his head and tighten against neck. The bag, or at least he assumed that's what it was, had a sickly sweet smell permeating from it that instantly made his head throb when he gasped in surprise.

“What the- let me _go_!”

Two pairs of strong hands grabbed him on each side as Chris began to fight against them, but they easily pinned his arms against his side and held him in place. _Where's Martin?_ He should have been here by now. Chris continued to yell for his brother, for anyone, to hear him as did everything he could to fight back, although it was hard when he couldn't see anything.

“Stop fighting you little sh- _Ow_!”

Chris managed to cut off the man's words by kicking at the source of the noise, before who he assumed was Hector twisted his arm around and up behind his back, causing him to let out a yelp of pain. As soon as Chris was distracted, they wasted no time in tightly tying his wrists together.

_I need to get away and call Martin and the Tortuga. I need to warn them!_ The smell was already making him feel lightheaded and weak. Chris held his breath, trying not to breathe in whatever the hood was soaked in as he continued with all of his strength to struggle to get away, but a swift knee to his stomach brought him to his knees as he reflexively gasped in pain.

One of the men pushed Chris to the ground, shoving his hand against his mouth and nose forcing him to breathe in the concentrated chemical in the cloth, while the other finished tying up his ankles, talking amongst themselves in a foreign language he couldn't understand. Chris continued to feebly fight them, but his strength was quickly sapped.

The last thing Chris felt before falling unconscious was being hoisted up and carried away.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is up and ready for you guys. Please let me know what you think and as always, hope you enjoy.

_No change._

Koki looked at the results of the system reboot on her screen, not liking what she was seeing. Any other time she would have been ecstatic to see all of the Tortuga's systems online and functioning like they were supposed to, but this was the one time she wished they malfunctioned.

Because that would mean it wasn't an error that made them lose the signals.

“Do the systems look okay?” Aviva asked, coming up behind her.

“I rebooted the entire system. The Tortuga's internal computers, the GPS, everything. Nothing's wrong,” Koki said, tugging at her hair out of frustration. “First we lost Chris' creature pod signal, then tag number seven. It's like they just vanished off the map.”

“It's not like the bros haven't broken their creature pods before...” Aviva said hesitantly, taking over the controls and pulling up the current GPS map. There were thirteen blinking dots on the screen in total, twelve tags for the gorillas and Martin's own creature pod. “But we lost a tag just afterwards too.”

“If it was just Chris, I'd understand,” Koki said. “But between losing the signal on the tag and Martin finding those animal traps, I'm kinda worried something might be going on.”

“I'm starting to get worried too. If it was a person who removed the tag, then they must've been watching Chris beforehand...” Aviva commented. “And you said none of the villains are in the area?”

Koki shook her head. “I checked again just in case, and they haven't moved. Are you sure someone could have gotten in the park? I mean, it took us weeks of paperwork to get access.”

“If they snuck in, they wouldn't have to go though the processing we did. The park is huge, I'm sure it could be easy to sneak in without the park rangers noticing.”

_If Chris and the gorillas went missing, they could be anywhere._ Koki shuddered at the implication. “You really think someone... that someone might be behind this?”

Aviva studied the screen for another moment, before grabbing her violet creature power suit. “You stay here with Jimmy and keep an eye on things in the Tortuga,” she said as she slipped in a peregrine falcon disk. “I'll go join Martin and figure out what's going on.”

“You sure you're gonna be okay out there by yourself?” Koki questioned.

“I'll be fine,” Aviva reassured her as she activated the creature power suit using a falcon feather from Chris' collection. “It'll only take me a few minutes to catch up to Martin with these powers. I'll let you know what we find out.”

“Well you better bring Chris back with you,” Koki attempted to joke, but her half smile fell as she watched Aviva leave the Tortuga.

Underneath it all she was concerned. Koki didn't like that Chris was somewhere out there (hopefully still in the same spot), unable to be reached, and she also didn't like that everyone was now so spread out. They already lost Chris and a tag as it was.

_I'm sure we're all making a big deal out of nothing, but it's always better to be safe than sorry,_ she tried to reassure herself.

And Koki already knew Martin was not going to like this update. Better to tell him now than later. Pulling up his communication line, she dialed out to his creature pod. He answered on the second ring.

“Did you get Chris' signal back yet?” Martin asked before Koki got a chance to say something.

Koki shook her head. “I finished the system reboot and the GPS systems are working fine,” she said, watching Martin's face fall from the news. “I still don't have a signal from his creature pod, and so far Chris hasn't tried to reach us.”

“I'm only about a half mile away. I'll check it out and see what's going on. Don't worry, I'll find Chris.”

Koki knew Martin enough that he wore his emotions on his sleeve; despite the smile on his face, she could see the lines of worry on his forehead. It wasn't the first time one of the bros went missing, but before it always involved their villains, and they were always together when it happened, so they normally at least had an idea what was going on.

Now it almost felt like they were dealing with a whole new territory.

“Be careful out there, and keep us posted on anything that happens,” Koki reminded the elder brother. “Aviva's on her way to you now to help. It's gonna be dark soon, so find Chris and bring him back here.”

Oh, was she was going to give Chris a new one for worrying them like this once she saw him.

* * *

 

Chris woke up to what seemed like the worst headache of his life. He felt like he had overslept, his brain groggy as his senses came back one by one.

The memories from before, however, hit him hard, as vivid flashes of being attacked woke him up the rest of the way. The dreaded hood they had put on his head earlier was thankfully gone, although the smell still lingered in his nose, leaving him still feeling slightly dizzy.

They had taken his jacket while he was unconscious, which left him with the little bit of warmth his shorts and undershirt provided. He assumed they must have taken his pocket knife as well, which left him limited on what he could use as potential escape.

Testing the ropes binding him, Chris found they cut off his circulation enough to be painful, and were too well tied to work off himself. His wrists and ankles were still bound like before, but now he had additional rope around his chest tying him directly to the chair. Whoever these people were, they did not mess around; they were an entirely new league above their usual villains they dealt with.

It was not the first time he had been caught in the middle of the villains while investigating animal disappearances, but at least the first time it had been by a robot controlled by Zach. These people seemed to be actual animal traffickers who knew exactly what they were doing, and that was scary.

As much as he hated to admit it, Chris started to feel afraid. He had been essentially kidnapped and was currently God knows where, with no way to contact the crew. Did they even know he was missing yet? How long had he been out for? Chris debated why they would even want to take him, although all the possible reasons only made him feel worse.

He only hoped Martin and the rest of the crew were safe. They could be walking into the same trap he did, and he had no way to warn them now.

Looking around at his surroundings, Chris noticed the stacks of several cages on the other side of the room, filled not only with the gorillas he had been searching for, but other equally as rare and endangered animals from the nearby surrounding areas.

_So I was right..._ While Chris was happy to find where the gorillas went, his heart clenched in fear as he continued to wonder what was going to happen to them. It was obvious they were taken, most likely by Hector, but for what purpose he was not sure why.

His gaze shifted over to see Hector standing near him, his arms crossed with a distasteful expression on his face. Another man Chris did not recognize stood further back by the cages in a similar stance. Chris assumed he was the other person who helped kidnap him. Both of them were tall and burly and still in their (most likely fake) ranger uniforms, taller than himself by several inches, and most likely European. Hector had a more angular jaw and darker features than the other one.

“So you're the one who's been stealing the gorillas,” Chris exclaimed, his anger growing. He had trusted this man, showed him the maps and data he had collected about their locations. Now, to his horror, it was most likely going to be used to steal the rest of them. _Oh, this is all my fault._ “Well? What are you going to do with them? You better let those gorillas go, along with the rest of the animals too. They belong living free and in the wild, not locked up in cages!”

Hector's expression didn't change, and it made Chris start to feel unnerved at the way he was staring him down. What exactly did they want from him?

“You seem to know a lot about these gorillas, Mr. Kratt.” Hector spoke as if Chris was an old friend, his tone casual, but there was an undertone of something that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“I told you, I'm a research biologist,” Chris said, his gaze following as Hector slowly trailed around him. “Who the hell are you, anyway? You're not a park ra-”

Hector suddenly lurched forward, roughly grabbing his hair into his fist and pulling his head back against the chair, his neck strained against the top rail. Chris let out a cry of surprise when his words were cut off.

“I believe I was asking the questions, Mr. Kratt. I'll start over,” Hector said, finally letting go. Chris had to suppress the sigh of relief when he did. “You know a lot about these gorillas going missing. So you and I and Tomas-” Hector pointed his thumb towards the man standing behind him. “-are going to have a little talk about who you are working for and how you found out.”

What did this guy think he was trying to do? “I don't _work_ for anyone,” Chris answered. He was now hesitant to remind them that he was actually a part of the Wild Kratts, not wanting to bring his brother and friends into this and potentially put them in danger as well. “All I was doing is researching the gorillas for-”

Chris was cut off yet again, this time by a heavy punch to the face. His cheek throbbed as he worried a loose tooth with his tongue.

“It's the truth! I was just counting the gorillas to keep track of them for the park, I wasn't hired by anyone,” Chris repeated, flinching when Hector's hand shifted towards him.

“I will tell you one thing, Mr. Kratt. We run a very tight business here, and I do not let _spies_ compromise it,” Hector threatened as he grabbed Chris tightly by the chin. “Your cooperation will determine whether you die quick with a bullet between your eyes-” he jabbed a rough finger to his forehead. “Or you'll be begging to die to if you refuse to talk. So do not get your hopes up that you will walk out of here alive.

“Now I don't have a lot of patience, and I don't like to keep repeating myself. Let's do this the easy way, hmm? I'll ask you again, _who_ are you working for?”

* * *

 

Martin, and later Aviva when she joined him, had spent a good several hours in the forest looking for Chris with no luck. When he had first gotten there his brother was no where to be seen, which only made him even more distressed. He had mentally hit himself over the head for taking too long with the animal snares (what if he could have found Chris if he got here earlier?). And as the day wore on, the feeling only got worse.

It had gotten well past dark at that point, even though that hadn't stopped Martin when he put on his night goggles. He had searched a good few mile radius from the original coordinates of the creature pod's last signal, but they had not even found so much as a clue.

Koki and Jimmy had checked in with them several times throughout the evening, although neither group had any updates. Good news was that no additional tags were lost, but that came with the bad news that there was still a missing gorilla and Kratt brother.

“Chris!” Martin yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. He was starting to lose his voice after calling for his brother for the past several hours, but that was the least of his concerns. “Chris, where are you brother? _Chris_!”

_Why'd you have to go and pick green, bro?_

His eyes scanned the upper layers of the trees as he climbed up a few branches for what seemed the tenth time that night, hoping to catch a glimpse or _something_ of Chris. Martin tried to think like his brother and retrace what his steps might have been, but that was difficult to do when he didn't know what happened to him in the first place.

“Christopher!” Martin yelled again, trying with his brother's full name in one last desperate effort to get his attention, but his only response was startled birds and the remaining troop of gorillas being woken up. “ _CHRIS!”_

Nothing. Martin felt a lump in his throat as he slid down from the tree and leaned against the trunk, checking his creature pod to see if Koki had sent him anything since the last time they checked in. Nothing there either. Chris was simply gone, and they had nothing to go on.

“Martin, over here!”

Martin stood back up and turned around to see Aviva several yards away reach down and pick up something small, green, and awfully familiar. _Oh no. Is that...?_ Running up next to her, the blond pulled off his goggles and gently took the object from her, gazing at it with trembling hands.

It was Chris' crushed creature pod.

“ _Chris...”_

Martin pressed his lips together, trying not to cry as he stared at his cascaded reflection in the cracked screen. He was starting to feel like a failure, first leaving Chris by himself and letting him get into this situation to begin with, and now not being able to find him.

“It was all I could find,” Aviva whispered. “I couldn't find his bag or the other buzz bike Chris took out here. I found this by accident in a pile of leaves.”

Martin wasn't sure if he wanted to know why it was broken, or why it was practically hidden away. All he wanted to know was where Chris was, and that he and the missing gorillas were safe. “It's been five hours, Aviva,” he said quietly, his hand tightening against the creature pod as if afraid that would disappear too. “We're three miles away from Chris' last signal.”

What was his creature pod even doing so far away? Chris knew better than to wander away if he lost contact with the crew. He would have headed back to the Tortuga, not three miles in the other direction.

“I know. Don't worry, Martin,” Aviva said, giving the man a gentle hug. His mind barely registered it, too focused on the broken device. “I can access the creature pod's core data when we get back to the Tortuga. That might give us some more clues as to what happened before it broke.” Aviva released the hug, but kept her hands firm on each shoulder. “We'll _find_ him.”

“What if Chris is hurt, or in trouble, or-” Martin swallowed as he ran a nervous hand through his hair, each scenario playing through his mind. “And Fizz's missing too. Anything could've happened to them, Aviva!”

What if someone _took_ them? Martin debated the reasons why someone might want to kidnap Chris, his stomach tightening with worry. He only hoped that that wasn't the case.

“Chris is a creature adventurer, he knows how to take care of himself. I'm sure he'll try and find a way to contact us,” Aviva reassured him.

_He can't if he's not able to,_ Martin thought to himself, worry starting to seep through.

“But it's getting too dark to see, and the goggles won't last much longer. We should head back and let Jimmy and Koki know what we found.”

Martin's eyes went wide at the suggestion. “We can't just _leave_ ,” he protested, standing in front of Aviva when she started to move towards the buzz bike to block her. “You go back to the Tortuga, I'll stay out here and keep looking.”

“If you don't take a break and get some rest, you're gonna make yourself sick. Then you won't be able to keep looking at all,” Aviva said softly, gently nudging Martin's shoulder towards the buzz bike. “Jimmy's flycam has enough charge to last over twelve hours. We can take turns controlling it overnight.”

Pocketing Chris' creature pod, Martin silently climbed into the passenger side of the buzz bike, giving one last look through the forest for any sign of his brother.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is slightly darker than the ones before.

“Can't you let me work in peace for five minutes? I told you I'm almost done, this is delicate work and I don't want it ruined.”

Martin took a few steps back from Aviva, who was currently in the process of dismantling Chris' creature pod. He couldn't help but hover over her work, anxious to know what she found as soon as possible. The sooner they could find something that would point them in the right direction, the sooner they could figure out what was going on and find Chris. Rubbing his hands together anxiously, he turned to see what Jimmy was up to.

“Have you seen anything yet?” Martin asked, watching the green glow of trees through the flycam's night vision on the main screen.

“Nothing but a few birds so far,” Jimmy commented, dipping the camera down into a small ravine. The pilot had volunteered to take the first shift for the controller in order to let Martin get some rest until his turn, although Martin already knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.

Watching the screen for a few more moments, Martin resumed his pacing around the main room. They had only been back for a little over an hour, but it seemed like forever. It felt like he was doing nothing by waiting around, and he wanted to get back out there and keep looking for Chris and Fizz, and make sure the rest gorillas stayed safe. He already even had a list of almost a dozen creature powers with heightened sensory power to help in the search.

“You're starting to make me dizzy, MK,” Koki commented, shaking her head when Martin passed by her chair again. “Why don't you sit down for a while?”

Martin opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Aviva. “ _He terminado!_ ” she exclaimed, pulling out the creature pod that was hooked up to her invention kit. “Diagnostics are done! I just finished downloading the data.”

Martin was instantly at her side, straining to see the computer screen and read what it said. “What is it? Did you find anything?” He asked.

“So far nothing much more than we already know,” Aviva said, tilting the screen to let the crew get a better look. “The last call Chris made was to the Tortuga when we last talked to him. There's a few pictures of gorillas that he took afterwards, but that's it.”

Martin's eyes scanned over each picture as Aviva shuffled through them, looking for any sort of clues that could be hiding in the background. But all he saw were gorillas and plants in the background, which only frustrated him more.

“The last thing Chris was looking at was the GPS radar for the tags,” Aviva continued, pulling up the screenshot of the map. “The screen capture says this was open when his creature pod broke, which was the same spot as his last coordinates.”

“I know he said something about the gorillas being missing,” Martin commented. “But then why would Chris break his creature pod? It just doesn't make any sense, this isn't like him.”

“There is one more thing I found.” Aviva turned towards Martin and Koki, looking as if she was unsure if she should continue. “I'm not sure what it could mean, but... When I scanned the outside of the creature pod, I found part of a shoe print and fingerprints. Neither of them match any of us.”

Martin paled when he heard that. His optimistic hope that Chris only got lost he still tried to cling to was quickly eroding, and he did not like where it was going.

“So what's that mean?” Koki questioned, leaning closer towards the computer to get a better look. “Someone else had Chris' creature pod and stomped on it?”

“Could be. I just wished we had something more to go with, so unfortunately I still don't know what happened,” Aviva admitted, placing the device into a plastic bag and zipping it up. “I found it buried in a pile of leaves three miles away, almost as if someone was trying to hide it. Worst case scenario, we could be dealing with the possibility that Chris might have been kidnapped. And whoever took him might be behind the rest of the gorillas going missing too.”

If Chris was taken out of the area, they might never be able to find him. _Please just be okay._ Martin closed his eyes as he willed himself to calm down, worry tightening his stomach and making him feel sick. Something in the back of his mind was screaming that something was very wrong, and that his brother's life was very much in danger.

“-alright Martin?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Martin said, not even bothering to disguise the lie in his voice. The crew would only call him out for it if he tried anyway. “Just worried about Chris, that's all.”

Aviva nodded in agreement, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know, Martin. We all are.”

“I don't know about you guys, but I think this is getting pretty serious,” Koki said, nodding towards the bagged creature pod. “After what we just found, I think we should contact the park rangers first thing in the morning and let them know. I'll give them the info of what we found so far. They might've seen something, and the more eyes helping, the better.”

* * *

 

Chris stirred awake, jolts of pain shooting up his body as he shifted. He noticed, with dismay, he was still in the same position as before.

With the little give he had in the ropes still binding him to the chair, he tried to flex his stiff muscles and get the blood flowing back through them. His body ached almost clear down to the bone after being roughed up earlier, and the cold draft that blew through the building only made it worse. Goosebumps ran up his bare arms, making him shiver slightly.

_How long have I been here?_ There were no windows to estimate the time based on the sun, the only light source being a low lamp that hung from above. Between the aches, his thirst, and the bruises forming on the parts of him that he could see, Chris estimated it had to have been at least a day.

Jumping at a loud scraping sound breaking the silence, Chris looked over to the side to see his captors pulling open the door to his 'room'. They looked just as unhappy as before, causing Chris to reflexively clench his fists in apprehension.

“Are you ready to talk now, Mr. Kratt?” Hector asked. “And I hope you make this quick, I have buyers already in line back in Serbia that I need to meet with. I promised them a quick delivery.”

So _that's_ why they were taking the animals. Chris had assumed they had to be some kind of animal traffickers when he had seen the stacks of cages, but actually hearing what their intentions were sealed the deal. Suddenly he wanted to smack himself upside the head; he practically walked himself here and handed over his research for them to use.

“You can't sell wild animals,” Chris said, his temper growing. Despite his fear of what they were going to do to him, he felt angry. The animals were helpless, even more trapped than he was. “These are their homes, their natural habitat. You can't just take them away from that.”

Both of them stepped up closer to him, causing Chris to immediately tense, but luckily they didn't hit him like before.

“Your concern is touching, but stupid, Mr. Kratt,” Hector said. It grated on Chris' nerves the way he talked with him as if they were friends. “If I were you I'd be more worried about yourself. So let's make this nice and easy, why don't we talk about who you're working with, hmm?”

“I'm not working for anyone,” Chris repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. What else could he tell them to make them believe him? He couldn't bring up the crew; Chris knew that would put them in danger as well, and he would do everything in his power to make sure his friends and family stayed safe.

They undid the ropes binding him to the chair, although they left the ones on his wrists and ankles. The large of the two grabbed Chris roughly by the arm, pulling him up out of the chair and dragged him towards a large bucket on the table in front of him that was filled with water.

“We'll start off easy for you,” Hector said, gripping the hair on the back of his head. Chris winced at the tight feeling, gazing at his reflection in the water when they pushed him towards the bucket. He looked as awful as he felt, his face exhausted and full of bruises. “You know a lot for someone who claims he's not spying. How did you find out about us?”

“I don't know anything about you!” Chris said as he eyed the water nervously. It seemed innocuous enough, but these men were capable of anything. “I was just researching the gorillas.”

Immediately after speaking, Chris' head was roughly shoved into the water. It was freezing, the sudden shock of the cold numbing his mind, and the salinity keeping it from icing over made his eyes and the cuts on his face sting. He struggled against the hands holding him in place in order to get out of their grasp and pull his head back up so he could breathe, but they continued to force him down.

Just when he thought his lungs would burst, they yanked his head out of the water.

“Who are you _working_ for?” Tomas yelled, straining Chris' neck up to look him in the eye.

Struggling to catch his breath, Chris gasped for air. “I don't-”

Chris was cut off when they pushed his head back into the water again. Surprised by the sudden motion, he accidentally inhaled, causing his lungs to immediately reject the water as he coughed. The freezing salty water made his chest burn as he struggled to hold his breath. By the time he was starting to feel dizzy and thought for sure he was going to faint, Hector pulled him back out.

It repeated several more times. Each time Chris was able to get a gasp of air, he was pushed back under water. They asked him every time they pulled him up for information, but Chris could barely breathe, let alone provide answers he did not even have. His knees were weak and shaky as his body wanted to collapse, but his captors kept him standing up.

Frigid water dripped from his head down to soak the rest of his thin undershirt, causing Chris to shiver from the cold. Both his body and mind felt overwhelmed as he sputtered, trying to cough out the water that was in his mouth, nose, and lungs. “I-I told you, I don't know,” Chris answered, his words unsteady.

“You're fucking lying,” Tomas hissed, grabbing Chris by the front of his shirt and pulling him towards himself. From what Chris could see from between his water logged bangs, he looked _pissed._ “You were on some sort of phone, talking to _someone_ about some kind of villain stealing gorillas. You knew about our whole operation, and you're working with someone to shut us down. So who _is_ it?”

“I'm not working for a-anyone,” Chris said between coughs, still trying to recover from his treatment earlier. _I can't tell them about the crew. I can't put their lives in danger._

Tomas and Hector exchanged a look before they each grabbed one of Chris' arms, dragging him back to the chair he was sitting in before. Chris struggled to process what was going on as they pushed him down, his thoughts still sluggish from being dunked in the freezing water.

“You'll talk soon enough, Mr. Kratt,” Tomas said casually, untying the ropes that held his wrists together. “You seemed like a smart man, I thought you would have made it easy for yourself and we would be able to avoid this.” Chris tried to struggle and escape with the newly freed hands, pushing at Tomas as he attempted to jump out of the chair, but Hector quickly pushed him back down and held his wrists still as they were tied to the arms of the chair.

Confused, Chris wondered what they were up to until Tomas grabbed his pinky finger and started twisting. He tried to block out the pain and breathe through it when his first finger was broken, flinching at the audible _snap_ the bone made _,_ although his resolve quickly dropped when they continued on to the left. New white hot pain flared up his hand as the next one broke, joining his already throbbing broken finger. Squeezing his eyes shut, Chris threw his head back as he let out a scream of pain, fighting against the restraints to get away as they kept going.

“ _Stop it!”_ He screamed. “I don't know! I told you _I don't know_!”

What didn't he know? His mind was blinded with pain, all consuming as it blocked out anything else. Breaking one finger was bad enough, but breaking them one by one was agonizing. This torture made the first one seem like it was nothing, making him almost wish he was going through that ordeal again.

They were saying something to him, but he was too overcome with the throbbing running up his arm to process what they were saying.

“I don't know, I don't know, I don't know...” Chris repeated the words like a mantra, trying to breathe through the pain he couldn't escape from.

They must have been asking more questions and didn't like his response; one of them grabbed his forearm and then Chris felt the uncomfortable, yanking twist and then sharp pain of his wrist being broken. He let out another scream, unable to control the tears now running down his face. His hand was jostled as his body shook from the intensity and stress of his torture, sending sharp jolts of agony up the nerves of his arm.

“Well?”

Chris could only shake his head, too overwhelmed from the pain to speak.

“Your so called bravery will get you no where, Mr. Kratt,” Tomas said, stepping back almost like he was viewing his handiwork. “I'd love to stay and chat some more, but this conversation is a little one sided. Maybe some time alone to think about smart choices will help.

“In the meantime, we have a business matter to work out. Our buyer is waiting, and he is a very busy man.”

“N-No, you can't take them,” Chris forced out as he watched the two men approach the cages. The animals backed away in fear, several letting out warning calls as the pair banged on their cages to silence them. “You're taking them away from their homes!”

His captors, of course, ignored him. Chris watched in horror as the baby gorilla his brother had named Fluff was placed in a crate; he could hear its whimpering cries of fear as it was taken away. Fluff's mom, as if she could sense what was going on, cried out in distress as well.

Hearing the door slide shut after they left, Chris hung his head low with guilt, crying quietly. _What a failure._ He couldn't save the gorillas and he couldn't warn his brother and the crew, who no doubt by now had to be worried and looking for him. It wouldn't be long until his captors found out about them as well, despite his best efforts to keep quiet about them. They could be walking straight into danger and it was all because of him.

* * *

 

It was hours past midnight when Martin found himself sitting up in the atrium of the Tortuga, sipping on a now cold hot chocolate and watching the rain fall on the glass. Normally he loved falling asleep to the sound of rain at night, but now it was only keeping him up.

Was Chris out in this mess? The rain was heavy and cold up in the mountains, and had drenched Martin when he was out earlier in the peregrine falcon suit searching for his brother from a higher vantage point. Wherever he was, Martin only hoped Chris at least found shelter for the night. This kind of weather could cause an illness without the proper gear, which he was sure Chris didn't have.

Martin shifted the broken green creature pod in his hand, his thumb running over the several cracks on the screen and outside. Had Chris tried to contact one of them before going missing? Why _was_ he missing in the first place?

The rest of the crew wouldn't let him leave the Tortuga, much to his chagrin, saying they were worried about his safety as well. _So what?_ If Chris was in trouble, Martin wouldn't even think twice about putting his own life in danger if it meant his brother was safe. But he had already tried to sneak out once before, and Aviva wasn't happy about that when she caught him halfway out the door.

Hopping down from the upper level, Martin dumped out what was left of his drink before taking over the controls for the flycam from Aviva for his turn.

“You okay, Martin?” She asked, giving the elder Kratt one last lingering look of concern as she handed over the controller. “I can keep going if you want.”

“Yeah, I'll be fine,” Martin said, waving off her concern as he forced a smile on his face. “Go get some sleep, it's late. I can handle this.”

Giving him one last look, she nodded before turning and walking away. Martin adjusted the camera to continue forward through the woods, frowning at the continued lack of any sign of Chris as he wished he could be out there for himself looking.

_Please just be okay._

 


	4. Chapter 4

“ _Mr. Kratt? Yeah, I think you should come down here immediately, there's something we found you might want to see.”_

Martin's eyes darted throughout the trees as he rode with Aviva in the Createrra to the coordinates the rangers gave them to meet, awake despite not getting any sleep for over forty-eight hours. Even though he had combed through these woods well through the past two days, and then again at night with the spycam, he was still on alert looking for any sign of Chris. While him and Aviva were outside searching, Koki and Jimmy had stayed behind on the Tortuga, monitoring the systems in case Chris found a way to contact them, just in case.

Martin had filed the missing person's report as soon as the ranger station opened the morning after Chris first went missing and didn't turn up, and gave them the information of what they found so far, including the missing gorilla reports, the creature pod data, and the areas he found the snare traps. The station had opened at seven AM, and Martin was at the door waiting ten minutes before then. If Chris had been there, he would have been proud Martin had actually managed to be somewhere on time for once.

That thought made his chest constrict painfully. He had been up for almost two whole days despite Aviva and Koki repeatedly telling him to go to bed, and they still hadn't found even a sign of Chris since he had gone missing. And then when the rangers were saying they found something and to meet them immediately, his heart froze in apprehension, now starting to fear for his brother's life.

_Just please be okay, bro..._

Aviva kept glancing over at him from the driver's seat, a concerned expression on her face. Why was she worried about him? It was Chris who needed it more.

“What do you think they want to show us?” Martin finally spoke. The call they received earlier from the ranger still left him with anxiety, his mind racing with possibilities of what it could be.

“Maybe they found some kind of clue,” Aviva suggested. “It sounded like it's important.”

“It's even further out than where we found Chris' creature pod,” Martin brought up. “I just hope it'll help us find Chris faster. It's been two _days,_ Aviva.”

“I know, Martin,” Aviva said quietly, giving one last glance over at the elder brother before turning back to the dirt road.

The rest of the trip was in silence, Martin's thoughts a whirlwind of scenarios of what Chris could be going through. Was he hurt? In pain? Lost somewhere and looking for them? Was he _dead_? (No, absolutely not. Martin pushed that thought out quicker than it came.) And while he was thankful no more gorillas have gone missing since Fizz, it did little to make him feel any better.

Oh _no..._

Once Aviva stopped the Createrra, Martin knew exactly what the rangers were talking about, his eyes widening in horror as he took in the sight before him. Chris' buzz bike and bag, ransacked and abandoned with the owner nowhere in sight. His gear, or what was left of it, was scattered across the forest floor, as if someone had went through it and left behind what they didn't want.

“What the...” Martin trailed off in shock as he climbed out of the vehicle, his fumbling fingers unbuckling the seat belt and untangling it as it pulled him back. Being careful not to step on any of his brother's gear, Martin started to weave through the maze of remnants.

“What _happened_?” Aviva asked, picking up the mangled remains of a part for the buzz bike as she looked towards the two rangers. “All of his stuff's been pulled out and thrown everywhere.”

One of the rangers came over to meet them as he, Martin noticed with a bit of anger, cut through Chris' belongings. “It could mean a few things-”

“Chris would never do this,” Martin cut the ranger off, turning back at the mess that was left behind. Pages of his brother's carefully written and organized research journals were torn, ripped, and in pieces. These were some of Chris' most prized possessions; years of work gone, just like that. Even if there was a possibility to piece them back together for Chris, Martin wouldn't even know where to start. “He's too organized and careful to let something like this happen to his stuff, he'd _never-”_

Martin couldn't finish his sentence, running a hand down his face as he tried to keep himself together. Breaking a creature pod, he could look over, it's definitely happened before. Wandering around afterwards, unusual, but it probably could happen, especially if creatures were involved. But pulling apart the buzz bike? And tearing apart his gear, his _research_? That wasn't Chris.

Why would someone want to do that in the first place? It was almost like someone was looking for something but wanted to hide it, taking it to a secluded spot and then ripping through all of his stuff until they found it.

There was no doubt about it now. Someone else did this, and they kidnapped Chris and the gorillas and potentially were who knows where by now.

Martin shook his head. “This wasn't Chris. Somebody did this, someone _took_ my brother,” he managed to choke out of his quickly closing throat. He felt like the air around him was closing in, he was slowly suffocating with the feeling that he might _never_ see Chris again, and it was all his fault, all because of some stupid bet.

Aviva came up beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Martin could not tear his eyes away from his brother's belongings. All he could think about was that he should never have left Chris two days ago. This would have never happened if Martin never left, this _should have never happened_ in the first place _._

* * *

 

They checked in with the rangers a few hours later, to see if there were any more updates. Martin had passed the time while waiting by picking up as much of Chris' stuff as he could to sort through later, and then constantly switched between keeping an eye out for his brother and checking the time until the rangers contacted them again for an update (and hopefully the first piece of good news for once since they've landed here).

“What do you know so far?” Aviva asked.

“We've been doing some research into these disappearances, and we think it could potentially be some kind of underground trafficking going on in the area.”

_So much for hoping for the good news_. So Martin _was_ right. All of the animal traps, the missing gorillas... _Damn it_ , he couldn't stop thinking about what he could have done to prevent this from happening; if only he had just stayed with Chris in the first place.

“We've reached out to other nearby parks, and they reported similar disappearances within the past year as well,” the ranger said. “No people have been reported missing, at least until Mr. Kratt, but a few animals vanished here and there. All young and healthy, no signs of predators or any explanation. Just gone.”

“I know that Chris was investigating the disappearing gorillas before he went missing. So if it's only been animals, then why Chris?” Martin asked. “What would they want with him?”

“Unfortunately he was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the ranger offered. “But someone like Mr. Kratt, who knows about their operation, is dangerous to them. They'll either kill him outright-” Martin shuddered at the thought “-or if they know about the rest of you and think you're trouble too, they'll use him as ransom. Animal traffickers can very dangerous.”

Paling at the news, Martin bit the inside of his cheek in worry. His worst fears seemed to be quickly becoming true; he prayed they were only worst case scenarios

“We need to find him,” Martin said firmly, bringing himself back to what needed to be done. He couldn't let his mind wander with the possibilities of what could be happening to Chris, not while he was still out there and needing him. It only made him feel sick. “Before any of that happens.”

“Well we've contacted the local police, so they're going to be helping in the search. The park's closed until further notice while we resolve this, and we have someone watching the gorilla troop too,” the ranger said.

_At least the rest of the gorillas will be safe,_ Martin thought, but unfortunately it didn't do Chris or the other ones missing any good.

“It's already been two days, and these traffickers could be anywhere by now. So with the extra hands helping with the search, it should hopefully help in narrowing down Mr. Kratt's location and find him a little sooner.”

Martin sure hoped it would. He had already searched practically a twenty mile radius from the location of Chris' last coordinates, but the dense forest made it hard to see sometimes (especially when his missing sibling was wearing green). Not to mention the park was hundreds of square miles in total, if they were still even in the park, which could take days, if not weeks, to search. Time which they, and _Chris,_ might not have.

Martin wrung his shaky and cold hands together as he started to feel grim before Aviva squeezed his shoulder, her hand warm against his skin. “Don't worry, we'll find him, I know it.”

* * *

 

Everyone was telling them to wait and let them take over the search for Chris after the newest revelation, but Martin was never one for patience. Desperate to keep looking himself, he told Aviva where he was going and quickly booked it out of there before she or anyone else could stop him.

Of course he appreciated the extra help, but there was no way in hell he would be able to just stand by and do nothing while Chris was _out there_ somewhere, kidnapped for God knows why and was probably scared, hurt, and alone.

Martin swallowed, his throat tightening as the ranger's words kept echoing in his mind. Chris wasn't out somewhere lost, or caught up in their usual villains' schemes. There was little doubt now that he had been kidnapped, and his life could potentially be in danger.

What a great older brother he was. All of this for a stupid gorilla creature power disc, which was now on the bottom of his list of priorities. All because of a stupid _bet_ Martin made.

Pulling out his canteen to quench his parched throat, Martin downed half the water before climbing up the first tree to continue with his search, hardening his resolve. He wouldn't stop until Chris was found.

* * *

 

Aviva glanced at her watch for the fifth time in the past twenty minutes. She was anxious; it was already pushing midnight, and Martin had yet to return back to the Tortuga. Even with the extra security throughout the park with the rangers and now police, she still felt uneasy about Martin being out so late.

Koki glanced over from the computer screen she was looking at, giving Aviva a concerned look. “Everything alright?”

“Ever since we talked to those rangers...” Aviva trailed off, shaking her head. The police and rangers had warned them that it could be dangerous for them as well, but Martin was bull headed and spontaneous enough to head out on his own anyways. “Martin's still not back yet. He told me he was gonna keep looking for Chris and then took off.”

“I'm sure Martin's fine,” Koki reassured the inventor, her thumb pointing back to the screen that still had the GPS map on it. “His creature pod signal's been moving around all night, and Martin'll call if he gets into trouble, he's usually good about that. He's just worried about Chris, can you blame him?”

Aviva had tried to call Martin earlier, but he didn't answer, later sending a text that he was fine. Looking back up at the map, she mentally counted to make sure all of the blinking dots of their creature pods and the gorillas were still there. She still kept a sharp eye on them ever since the first day, afraid they could disappear as well.

That's how Chris went missing, after all, and she would do everything in her power to make sure no one else did either.

Her thoughts drifted back to the missing Kratt brother, her chest constricting as she wondered what could be happening to him right now. Everything they had found so far, as little as it was, only pointed to bleak possibilities, and the newest update when the rangers told them that Chris had most likely been kidnapped by dangerous criminals left her feeling even more hopeless.

But she knew whatever she was feeling, Martin was feeling it a hundred times worse. Koki was right, she couldn't blame Martin.

“I know,” Aviva finally agreed as she down in the chair next to Koki, crossing her arms on the desk with a sigh. “Poor Martin, he's going to make himself sick, he's running himself ragged!”

“Between not sleeping and being out in all this rain every day, it's a wonder he's not already,” Koki said.

Martin claimed he was getting sleep each night, but as Jimmy put it when he saw Martin first thing this morning, “you're not, the bags under your eyes are so big, they're designer, so watch out for Donita Donata”. Aviva wanted to laugh at Jimmy's attempt to lighten to mood that had been so heavy lately, but it only highlighted just how rough Martin was taking it.

“He's too worried about Chris to even think about stopping for a break,” Aviva said, her mind flashing back to earlier today. “They told us Chris might be dead, and of course Martin didn't take it lightly. I'm just worried about him, he's been gone for a while.”

“I don't doubt that he would. He's been upset ever since Chris and those gorillas went missing,” Koki said. “We'll get him to take a nap when he gets back. Even if Jimmy has to put something into a soup and force feed it to him.”

* * *

 

“ _Chris... no no no no-”_

Martin suddenly shot up awake, immediately scrambling to keep his balance when he realized he was propped up on a high branch in a tree. “J-Just a dream...” he muttered to himself, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the trunk, trying to calm his racing heart. He had felt exhausted earlier but he had pushed himself on in his search, not wanting to waste any time sleeping. He must've fallen asleep and didn't realize it.

_Not anymore_ , he mused, still trying to shake that nightmare out of his head. The nightmare was his living one as well, the worst case scenario he was trying so desperately to avoid. Martin was so afraid of Chris dying it was starting to eat into his dreams. He mentally cursed himself for falling asleep and cutting into time he could be searching for Chris.

Looking up at the clear night sky, it felt ironic compared to Martin's stormy conscious. He smiled wryly as he remembered how Chris used to climb into his bed at night when he was little, afraid of the dark and the monsters under his bed (yet there were never any under Martin's just across the room). His stomach tightened at the memory; he only hoped that wherever his brother was, he was safe.

Martin winced as he wondered how mad the crew was with him for being out so late. Glancing at his creature pod to see how long he had been asleep, he sighed when he saw it had been over two hours. _1:03 AM._ It had now ticked into day three of Chris being missing. Carefully standing up on legs that had long since fallen asleep, Martin climbed down the tree and started to head back to the Tortuga, his thoughts heavy with too many what-ifs.

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Martin's favorite number growing up had always been five. It was his age when his father took off his training wheels, it was the amount he got from the tooth fairy each time he lost one, it was the number of his soccer jersey back when he used to play in school. Five was just Martin's lucky number, the one he always bet on when he had to choose one; it just seem to naturally follow him through life.

Chris had been missing for five days now.

Right now five was his new least favorite number. But then each new day Chris was missing was Martin's least favorite number. Every time a day added to the count was a new reminder that his brother was still gone, and increased the chances of never finding him again.

Martin was growing _desperate._ No Chris, no news, no finds, nothing (and as much as he _did not want to go there,_ no body either, but he would take the good that came with that). He was slowly losing his mind as each search came up empty handed.

The police had started to reach out to other parks and nearby areas, asking if they had seen any sign of Chris and to keep an eye out for him and contact them if they did. While Martin could not appreciate what they were doing more, the thought that Chris could be _anywhere_ was terrifying.

Martin started to feel hopeless as he mentally weighed the chances of finding his brother, his heart painfully constricting in his chest; if Chris could be anywhere, then was he wasting his time searching here? If he was taken out of the park, Martin wouldn't even know. They had almost nothing to go by either. The only insight they had pointed to Chris being kidnapped, but nothing on who or where, which meant he was essentially doing this search blind.

The creeping sense of trepidation started to return, and he struggled to push it away. Every second was critical, and Martin was painfully aware that Chris' life was very much in danger. As the time passed, it seemed like chances of finding Chris were beginning to look grim.

Martin knew he could not live with the guilt if he was responsible for Chris suffering, or worse, dying, because he didn't have a clue where to search. It was bad enough Chris was kidnapped because Martin made that _stupid bet_ in the first place.

The time ticked to twelve AM midnight, making his stomach drop as the date changed over. Martin hated the number six.

* * *

 

Pale dawn light filtered through the atrium of the Tortuga when Aviva was woken to several loud bangs coming from near the main doors. From the sounds of snoring that could only be Jimmy and Koki still sleeping, she guessed it was up to her to get up then. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up from her hammock, shuffling to put on her slippers and robe as she got up to investigate the source of the noise.

It turned out to be the only one she knew who could be that loud. _Martin_. The blond appeared to have had dropped everything he had on the floor, apparently not caring if would wake everyone else up.

Normally Aviva would chastise Martin for sneaking out and being out so late (so early? It was pushing six AM) regarding the circumstances, but she found herself flooded with relief that Martin was safe, with only a few scratches most likely from thick underbrush.

His heard turned slightly when he heard Aviva enter the room, but his focus remained on his gear as he halfheartedly began to put it away, his back to her. She moved forward a few steps, Martin tensing when she did.

“Are you alright Martin?” Aviva asked, frowning in worry.

Martin jumped at the sound of her voice, but otherwise didn't turn around. His movements were stiff as he pulled off his creature power suit, silent as he placed it in its usual spot; Aviva noticed his hands were shaking slightly.

“Martin?”

While Aviva was still uneasy with Martin's quiet and tense behavior that had replaced his normal buoyant personality for the past several days (although obviously understanding given his worry about Chris), he usually at least kept her updated and talked to her. He stopped what he was doing, this time, but instead of turning around he balled his hands into fists and looked down.

“Are you okay? What's wrong?” Aviva asked again while walking towards his front, her concern spiking as Martin continued to stare at the ground in silence, biting his lip. It was the first time she had ever seen the man so quiet and unsure, and it was starting to scare her. “Martin? Is everything alright, do you need me to wake up the others?”

Martin paused before shaking his head, finally speaking. “I-I can't find him, Aviva.” His voice was barely a whisper, and Aviva had to strain to hear his words. It sounded tremulous and broken, making her own heart start to break as well. “It's been _six days,_ I have no idea where Chris is or-” Martin paused to take several deep breaths, closing his eyes as he swallowed. “I've looked everywhere, and... I just want my brother back.”

What could she say in response to that to make him feel better? When Martin finally looked up Aviva noticed his red eyes and tear stained face; no doubt he had been crying for a while, most likely before he even came home. He looked as if he was barely keeping himself from falling apart, his lips pressed together as if he was trying not to cry again.

“It's my fault,” Martin continued, running a nervous hand through his hair. Aviva opened her mouth to protest that no, it absolutely was not, but Martin shook his head and cut her off before she had a chance to speak. “All because of a stupid _bet_ that I made. 'Who can find the first gorilla. Loser has to go back to the Tortuga and help with the disc, so we could have one faster. Uh, no offense Aviva.”

That was the last thing on her mind.

“I shouldn't have made that bet!” Martin said, hitting his forehead with his fists. He started to pace as the pitch of his voice rose. “I should have _been_ there to protect Chris! He told me he about the gorillas going missing, but I left him alone anyways, and someone kidnapped him.”

“You couldn't have predicted that,” she said. “You had no way of knowing what was gonna happen. The only one to blame is whoever took Chris.” Her heart tightened when she heard Martin's breath hitch.

Aviva knew Martin felt a small part at fault for Chris going missing, and while she didn't like that he placed that guilt on himself and didn't blame him in any way, she could understand his reasons. Martin, as much of a forgetful goofball as he acted sometimes, knew when to be serious, and his role of the older brother was one of them. What she did not know until now was _how much_ of a burden of guilt he had placed on himself.

“This isn't your fault, and you shouldn't blame yourself.”

Martin pulled out Chris' broken creature pod from his pocket, clutching it tightly as he inspected the damage. He had taken to carrying it with him everywhere once Aviva had given it back after running the diagnostics. Shaking his head, Martin put the device back in his pocket. “But it still happened.” his voice dropped back to a whisper, meeting Aviva's eyes for a second before looking down. “I should've had his back, not making stupid bets. A-And now-”

Aviva watched in sympathy when Martin's voice cracked at the end of his sentence, and had started to cry. She immediately pulled him into a hug, which he gratefully accepted.

“I-I don't know what to do,” he choked, “Chris, is _out_ there somewhere. He needs me, but I've looked for days and can't find him. What if he's not even here anymore? What if he's dead-”

“Chris isn't dead, Martin,” Aviva cut him off, not even letting him entertain the idea. The dark thought that Chris could be dead was starting to creep through the very back of her mind as well, but she always snuffed it out immediately. “We'll _find_ him. I promise, we'll find him.”

Bracing herself to hear Martin protest, she was relieved to feel him nod against her. He cried for several more minutes, letting out several days of worry and frustration that had bottled in and let build. Aviva let him, hugging him back just as tight.

Finally he pulled away, wiping his face with the sleeve of his jacket. “Thanks, Aviva,” he said, a soft smile on his face that was the first one she had seen in days. “I'm just- worried about Chris, that's all. It's been almost a week, and...”

“I know, and we'll find him soon, I just know it. But you should get some rest, you're running yourself to the ground,” Aviva said, eyeing the lines of exhaustion around his eyes.

Martin held an almost unspoken hesitation in his eyes, before he nodded. “Let me know if anything happens,” he said, before turning around and heading to his room.

* * *

 

_Chris was hauled up by the back of his shirt collar, making him choke slightly as it pulled against his neck and cut off his air supply. One of his captors was up in his face and yelling something, although his mind couldn't process what he was saying, too run down by days (weeks? No, he hadn't eaten, he would have starved if it had been that long) of constant torment._

_The other one holding him up shook him roughly when he didn't respond, making his head spin, and then Chris felt the cold steel barrel of a pistol at the base of his neck. He instantly froze._

“ _Please-” he choked out, tears running down his face, terrorized as he heard the 'click' of the gun. Was it loaded with another blank? Or was it the real thing this time?_ Please don't please don't please don't-

_The very small and desperate part of the back of Chris' mind almost considered the gun, an end to the constant pain and suffering he had endured since he had awoken here. However, he couldn't do that to Martin and his friends, who would no doubt be_ crushed _if they found out. If they found him. But that only meant they weren't caught up in this and were safe, and that was all that mattered to Chris._

“ _Plea-”_

_**BANG!** _

_Chris let out a startled yell and flinched as the gun shifted and then fired, the loud noise ringing in his ears as he momentarily couldn't hear a thing. A blank. Whoever was holding his shirt collar dropped him back to the ground, making Chris land on his hands and knees. His limbs were quivering, from the exhaustion, the strain, the intensity-_

_Overcome by the stress of it all, Chris started to throw up, which consisted only of stomach acid that was tinged red. It burned his parched throat as it came up, raw from his thirst and coughing and screaming, causing him to sob from the pain as he then continued to dry heave._

_They were mocking him as they stood above Chris, laughing and jeering at his suffering. One of them kicked him hard in the side, making him utter a strangled cry as it hit a rib that was most likely broken, fire coursing up his chest as he collapsed. The man pushed down on his back with his boot, digging it in and in until he couldn't take it and he started screaming again-_

Chris awoke with a gasp, which had turned into a series of rough coughs as the illness he had contacted raged through his body. Closing his eyes, he tried to get his racing heart to slow down, taking careful deep breaths in order to avoid aggravating his lungs. Now the few blissful hours he managed to get of sleep when he could actually get some were disrupted by constant nightmares (more like flashbacks). He was _exhausted_ , his mind was slowly going insane.

He was curled up on the ground, huddled into himself to try and keep in body heat with his broken hand clutched protectively to his chest. He could not stop shivering; his body was freezing, and between the cold mountain air running through the drafty building and his wet clothes that wouldn't dry all the way, his body just could not get warm.

How much time has passed since he'd been here now? His stomach was twisted and knotted in hunger that made him dizzy, so it had to have been days at this point. At least his captors had untied the ropes, although not before they had left deep and painful marks on his skin from his struggling. But it allowed him a little movement and eased his feeling of entrapment, if only a little.

It wasn't like he had the energy to escape anyway, not after fighting hunger and illness for the past several days. He could barely crawl, let alone run away.

Were they going to kill him? His captors had said he would be asking for it by the end, and Chris was afraid he was getting closer to that point. But despite everything he had gone though so far, nearly begging for it when the pain was at its peak, Chris was still terrified to die. He couldn't, not when Martin and his friends were probably worried sick about where he was, and while he could still hear the cries of the animals still in danger near him.

Unfortunately as each day passed, his outlook was looking more bleak, and since the sound of gunfire over the past several days hadn't drawn any attention, he doubted anyone would find him now.

Suddenly Chris was overcome by a wave of longing and _want_ for Martin and to see him again, as if he had not in a long time. Chris was afraid of what was going to happen to himself. and as his elder brother, Martin had always been there to comfort Chris when he needed it. The thought that he might not ever see his brother (and his friends, as well) again made tears prick his eyes.

His frame shook as more coughs racked through his body, suppressing a cry as it aggravated his broken ribs. He could feel himself grow weaker each day, what he assumed to be pneumonia beating him down as it ate away at what little strength he had left. If his captors weren't going to kill him soon, then his health surely would before them.

Either way, Chris had the feeling his fate was already sealed. He only hoped Martin would forgive him.

 


End file.
